DeKalb Broadband Taskforce | DCEDP

AUBURN — DeKalb County Commissioner Mike Watson, Auburn City Councilwoman Natalie DeWitt, and Anton King of the DeKalb County Economic Development Partnership have launched the DeKalb County Broadband Task Force.

The task force will consist of representatives and experts from area economic development and business groups, broadband service providers, elected officials, and other community leaders committed to deploying fast, reliable broadband access to all DeKalb County residents and businesses.

“Today more than ever, access to high-quality broadband is critical to how we do everyday life, industries such as agriculture, healthcare, education, eCommerce rely on it. High-speed Internet enables our local communities to develop, attract, retain and compete for business opportunities that leads to greater economic growth,” DeWitt said.

The DeKalb County Broadband Task Force recently had its first meeting to discuss broadband resources and its goals and plans to close the digital divide in the community. These resources can be found on the DeKalb County Economic Development Partnership website that serves as an information hub for residents and businesses, along with hosting the DeKalb County Farm Bureau Speed Test. The Task Force will also serve as a working group to leverage state and federal broadband grant opportunities.

“We strongly encourage residents and businesses to assist us in closing the digital divide by taking the speed test and challenging the FCC maps to leverage state and federal broadband infrastructure funds. We also want the community to be aware of the resources that are available including discounts on the cost of internet and infrastructure improvements for individual residents and businesses that lack broadband access,” Watson said.

To learn more, visit dekalbedp.org/broadband-taskforce.

Article source: https://www.kpcnews.com/thestar/article_b81131af-1d79-5019-ae14-d6cb743d3116.html